English players urged to rethink Afghanistan league entries
Seven English cricketers have entered the draft for the new Afghanistan Premier League, and Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi says they should think about their "daughters, sisters or mothers" first.
Ollie Pope, Luke Wood, Moeen Ali, Reece Topley, James Vince, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Laurie Evans have all registered for the draft, which is due to be held in October, according to BBC Sport.
The league is a new men's T20 franchise tournament — a short, 20-overs-a-side competition where privately owned teams sign players — organised by the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The five-team event is planned for the United Arab Emirates and is due to start on 27 December.
Antoniazzi told BBC Sport that players should think seriously about the consequences of taking part. She said she hopes the International Cricket Council, the sport's global governing body, refuses to sanction — or officially approve — the event.
Her concern centres on the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Since the Taliban returned to power, women have been shut out of public life and sport, including cricket.
Felix Jakens, a spokesperson for Amnesty International, echoed that warning. He said English players should give proper thought to joining a tournament run by a board from a country which has "erased women and girls from public life".
The England and Wales Cricket Board does not schedule bilateral men's cricket against Afghanistan — country-versus-country series arranged directly between boards — because of the Taliban's record on women and girls. That policy does not cover franchise leagues, so the decision rests with individual players.
In practice, English players need a No Objection Certificate from the ECB, a formal permission slip, to appear in overseas leagues. The ECB is likely to grant those certificates if the ICC approves the tournament.
The Afghanistan board has applied to the ICC for approval, and that application is still being considered.
Afghanistan's women cricketers now play as a refugee team after fleeing their country. The side is funded by the ICC alongside the boards of England, India and Australia, and in July the ICC extended that funding until 2032.
The ECB has also worked directly with the refugee side. It announced plans to host the Afghan Refugee Women's Team for a tour beginning on 22 June, described as ground-breaking, according to ECB.
For fans, this means the debate is about personal choice rather than a team ban. England faced similar calls in early 2025, when a group of British lawmakers urged a boycott of England's men's Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, a call the ECB declined after board discussion, according to Reuters.
The next steps are procedural. The ICC will decide whether to sanction the league, and then each registered player will decide whether to stay in the draft.
